CMS Increases 2026 Federal Poverty Level Standards

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released their 2026 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) Standards Memo. These standards are applied to eligibility criteria for programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and account for the increase in the Census Bureau’s current official poverty thresholds by the relevant percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.

In 2026, the CPI saw a 2.6% increase, which, after adjusting for inflation led to a slight increase in FPL standards. In 2025 the poverty guideline for a family of 4 in Ohio would have been $32,900, and in 2026 that number has increased to $33,000. Read the 2026 CMS FPL Standards memo here, or view the full guidelines in 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) here.